Creole To Stay

By Jack McLaughlin / Photos by Leonardo Carrizo

Over a meandering tuba line, the trumpets come in, just as loud and swanky as the neon-soaked Louisiana streets the musicians call home.

“Do whatcha wanna, do whatcha wanna,” a raspy voice delivers like a cadence, on time with the song’s woozy 4/4 time signature.

Aptly named “Do Watcha Wanna,” the song is a big band classic from the iconic New Orleans group Rebirth Brass Band. And when the opening notes hit the speakers of her brand-new Arena District restaurant, Creole 2 Geaux, owner Janvièr Ward can’t hide her excitement if she tries.

“This is my favorite song. We even played it at my wedding,” she said, recalling it was played while Ward and her husband took part in the Louisiana tradition of dancing beneath an open umbrella.

"Whenever I cook, no matter where I am, it can taste like home"

Adding the final touches to a dish before serving

And even on the new eatery’s walls, guests can take in flashes of the Big Easy, most clearly in the mural Ward had commissioned for the new restaurant, depicting Bourbon Street signage, gulf pelicans, a historic streetcar and a classic shotgun-style house that’s ever-present in the city.

Because for Ward, the eatery–which began as a food truck in 2016 before opening in the East Market last spring–operates as more than just a place to eat. Creole 2 Geaux is a way for her to share a piece of New Orleans, of her family’s long-standing traditions, with her native Columbus.

“Making food is the connection I have to so much of my family, to my grandmother,” Ward said. “Whenever I cook, no matter where I am, it can taste like home.”

Ward is not from Louisiana–she’s a native of Columbus–but the bayou she visits every year is still in her blood, and where her ancestral roots lie. Now, her new, 1,900 square-foot eatery (which opened in late February) is the concept’s largest by far, and its first-ever standalone brick and mortar space.

"That's big for me, to know that I did my grandma proud"

“My goal for this location is to do something more personal and present. I want to be able to connect with my guests in a way I couldn’t really before. People want to know my story, they want to know my origins, my name and where I learned to cook,” she said. “While I love the Market, I haven’t been able to give that to people there; I don’t always get to see the looks on their faces, when they try the food for the first time. That’s big for me, to know that I did my grandma proud.”

Just like the city of New Orleans itself, where the past and present seem to overlap all the time, Ward is moving ahead with Creole 2 Geaux first by revitalizing a handful of dishes from its past.

Adding the final touches to a dish before serving

For the first time since 2020, when Ward and her concept operated for a stint out of the Blu Note Jazz Cafe, Creole 2 Geaux will be offering breakfast beginning this spring.

But not just any breakfast: This, she says, is the “Full Southern Breakfast.”

Breakfast highlights include mimosas, lamb chops, croquettes, a shrimp-crawfish omelet po’ boy, catfish and grits, and Ward’s Big Easy play on chicken and waffles, Lobster and Waffles.

The new location will also boast a full bar serving New Orleans-inspired drinks (Ward and her sister also operate a separate New Orleans-themed daiquiri and milkshake concept in the East Market), in addition to an expanded lunch and dinner menu.

The Arena District Creole 2 Geaux will even be initiating a new, 10 minute-or-less lunch menu for those who want something quick but delicious on the go.

But, as you likely know by now, you shouldn’t be in a rush on Ward’s account; she’d be happy if you stayed a while.

“The fact that we can get into the Arena District as a small, Black-owned business to showcase our Creole recipes, to bring them to even more people in Columbus, it’s something we’re really excited about,” she said. ♦

Check out Creole 2 Geaux's menu and learn more at creole2geaux.com